In related art there is no disclosure relating to curved panel shear test technology, but in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. SHO-60-135839 a shear tester for a rectangular panel is disclosed.
The disclosed rectangular panel shear test apparatus is shown in FIG. 10 hereof.
The shear tester 100 shown in FIG. 10 has a rail 103 extending horizontally between a pair of posts 102, 102, supporting claws 104, 104 provided movably on this rail 103, and fixtures 105, 105 such as foundations.
One side of a rectangular panel 106 is held by the fixtures 105, 105, and the opposite side of the rectangular panel 106 is gripped by the supporting claws 104, 104. By the supporting claws 104, 104 being moved along the rail 103, a shear stress arising in the rectangular panel 106 is obtained.
The rectangular panel 106 must be a flat panel. When a shear test of a curved panel is carried out with the shear tester 100, a uniform shear load cannot be applied to the curved panel, bending of the edges of the curved panel and undulations in the center consequently arise, and an accurate shear characteristic (e.g. strength) cannot be measured.
Therefore, a shear tester of related art cannot be used on a curved panel. However, there is a need to measure accurate shear characteristics (e.g. strength) of curved panels typified by fuselage outer panels of aircraft by applying a uniform shear load to the curved panel in its curved state.
Thus, a shear tester capable of applying a uniform shear load to a curved panel has been awaited.